by Debra McDuffee on Jun 9th 2008 2:00PM
Making handmade soap is an art form in itself. You can create swirls, layers, confetti, and textures in your cold process soap. It makes sense that you'd want to wrap your soap in a beautiful way too.
Your first instinct might be to use cellophane or another clear wrapper so you can see the gorgeous details of your soap, but if you make cold process soap from scratch, you will want to choose a more breathable wrapping.
The cold process soap likely retains some moisture from the curing process, which, unless you have been drying your soap for a year or so, is still not complete. Also, due to the high amount of naturally occurring glycerin in cold process soap, moisture is naturally attracted to it and you'll possibly end up with a soggy, moldy bar of soap if you use plastic.
After the jump, I'll share multitudes of wrapping ideas to make your soap look classy, country, funky, or somewhere in-between. In the meantime, peruse the gallery for some visual ideas.
Gallery: Wrapping handmade soap
If you like simply-wrapped soap:
*try the cigar band style using simple copy paper (white or colored, or even some of the stationery papers) or cardstock. Wrapping your soap so that some of it is still showing lets people see what your artistic bar looks like.
*wind a ribbon or metallic stretchy cord around the soap. It's simple and eye-catching, perfect for gift-giving.
inspired wrapping paper that fits the theme of your soap may be just the thing. Paper inspired by Turkish tiles wraps the Turkish soap in the gallery.
Your favorite handmade paper with a small tag attached, stating the type of soap.If rustic styling appeals to you:
*Brown kraft paper can be paired with raffia and twine again, or a gingham ribbon. If you are a funky monkey:
* try wrapping your soap in brown kraft paper and fastening with a thin wire embellished with colorful beads.
browse the remnant table at your local fabric store for the wildest material you can find. Wrap your soap in it and fasten with complimentary ribbon.
* use unique charms and embellishments when you tie your wrappers on with ribbon, raffia, or twine. You'll find little shovels for gardening soap, perhaps, or silk roses for a rose-scented soap.
*you might like a whimsical scrapbooking paper tied with ric-rac. If classy is your middle name:
*opt for the soap box, with your printed label on the outside. A metallic or patterned label will add some pizazz.
*a solid Thai mulberry paper with a complimentary cigar band label is eye-catching.
*a simple cigar band made of parchment paper and printed in a monochromatic color scheme may appeal to you. For even more soap wrapping ideas, visit The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe. What's your favorite wrapping for handmade soap?
*wind a ribbon or metallic stretchy cord around the soap. It's simple and eye-catching, perfect for gift-giving.
inspired wrapping paper that fits the theme of your soap may be just the thing. Paper inspired by Turkish tiles wraps the Turkish soap in the gallery.
Your favorite handmade paper with a small tag attached, stating the type of soap.If rustic styling appeals to you:
*Wrap soap in muslin fabric and tie with twine, like a present.
*Corrugated cardboard may lend the look you want, tied with raffia.
*Brown kraft paper can be paired with raffia and twine again, or a gingham ribbon. If you are a funky monkey:
* try wrapping your soap in brown kraft paper and fastening with a thin wire embellished with colorful beads.
browse the remnant table at your local fabric store for the wildest material you can find. Wrap your soap in it and fasten with complimentary ribbon.
* use unique charms and embellishments when you tie your wrappers on with ribbon, raffia, or twine. You'll find little shovels for gardening soap, perhaps, or silk roses for a rose-scented soap.
*you might like a whimsical scrapbooking paper tied with ric-rac. If classy is your middle name:
*opt for the soap box, with your printed label on the outside. A metallic or patterned label will add some pizazz.
*a solid Thai mulberry paper with a complimentary cigar band label is eye-catching.
*a simple cigar band made of parchment paper and printed in a monochromatic color scheme may appeal to you. For even more soap wrapping ideas, visit The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe. What's your favorite wrapping for handmade soap?
4 comments:
I beg to differ on the idea of wrapping your soap in "plastic". I've been using (and selling) smell-through shrink wrap for years! The soap continues to cure while in the wrap, and does not get moldy or soggy at all. Best of all, the wrap helps retain the natural scents of essential oils which can tend to fade over time.
Thanks Amy for your feedback. The author of this article may have had used a product which was unbreathable which caused the soap to become soggy. So your link is helpful to the readers.
Thank you for the many ideas! What may not work for one, will for another. We wrap ours in a bakers wrap and label with kraft. We do use a clear shrink wrap band for shows and stores. So, be versatile and experiment.
Thanks Ten Digits for your suggestions!
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